The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Systems for simulating combat for military and police training are known in the art. Such systems provide participants with a simulated combat environment, typically utilizing simulated weapons, from which to train and learn different combat situations. The participants of a simulated combat environment may include, for example, soldiers, vehicles, non-hostile pedestrians or animals. The participants train under simulated realistic conditions, without the detrimental consequences of sustaining casualties associated with conventional armed non-virtual or non-simulated combat.
Many simulated training systems use virtual reality simulators in conjunction with modified or simulated weapons configured to interact with the virtual reality simulator. The modified or simulated weapons capture data about how the weapon is used and send that data to a computing device that uses the data to produce interactions with the simulated training system. One of the goals of the modified or simulated weapons used in these training systems is to mimic the use of the weapon as it would be used in the field. The current state of the art is to use mock-ups that look and feel as close to the real weapons as possible or to make significant modifications to a real weapon that typically prevent the weapon from live fire use.
One known system includes multiple integrated laser-weapon devices. In this type of system, the participants simulate shooting by actuating a laser transmitter, which simulate the potency of real projectiles. Additionally, the participants possess optical detectors, which detect the laser light impinging thereon; the system records each such detection as a hit. The laser beam transmitted by each participant may be encoded with a unique player code, thereby identifying the shooter of every hit.
Another known combat simulation system is a paint-ball game system, wherein players of opposing teams target one another with paint-ball guns. Each player dresses in paint-protective wear, and possesses a paint-ball gun. A player from one team, holding paint-ball gun, launches balls that contain paint of a predetermined color representing the team of that player. The player launches that paint-ball toward a player from an opposing team. When the ball strikes the opposing team player, the paint present within the ball is released onto the paint-protective wear of that opposing team player, thereby visually marking that player as hit. Casualty assessment is confirmed visually, according to the color present on the paint-protective wear of the players.
One problem with known simulation systems and simulation weapons is they do not accurately match the feel and operation of a real weapon, e.g., the discharge sound and kickback functions are not truly simulating. Hence, there is a continuing need for greater real-world simulation of actual weapons integrated into a simulation system.
Another problem with known simulation systems is the limited live monitoring and inability to deviate from the set training events. Hence there is a need to provide an administrator or systems manager the ability to monitor action in a live or near live state and make adjustments to the playing conditions and/or operating parameters of players and devices.
There is a further need in the art to provide a simulation system that can provide communication via a mesh network over a plurality of devices. Communication can include voice and data over various devices including simulation weapons or various simulation devices.